CDC action at germ lab questioned

CDC action at germ lab questioned

At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new $214 million infectious disease laboratory in Atlanta, scientists are conducting
experiments on bioterror bacteria in a room with a containment door sealed with duct tape.

The tape was applied around the edges of the door a year ago after the building's ventilation system malfunctioned and pulled potentially contaminated
air out of the lab and into a "clean" hallway.

Nine CDC workers were tested in May 2007 for potential exposure to the Q fever bacteria being studied in the lab, CDC officials said this week in
response to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The air-flow incident occurred very early in the morning, before the workday began. The blood tests were done out of an "abundance of caution," CDC
spokesman Tom Skinner said, and they showed that none of the workers who arrived after the incident were infected.

Q fever, which causes high fevers and sometimes fatal heart problems, is most commonly spread when humans inhale bacteria-laden dust from contaminated
animal waste. Human-to-human transmission is rare. It is classified as a potential bioterror agent because it is moderately easy to disseminate.

The CDC Q fever lab's air containment systems have since worked properly, agency officials said; the lab is safe and poses no risk to workers. The
public was never at any risk because numerous security layers were in place between the lab and the outdoors, they said.

What I don't get is why I haven't heard about this before reading this thread?

This is like that Bruce Willis/Brad Pitt movie about the monkeys.

But what's worse is I've got a bunch of family in Atlanta and Marietta. What's CDC's Q fever lab doing in a big city like Atlanta anyway? Why
are all of this bioweapon labs being opened in cities around the country? Shouldn't this kind of work be done miles down, underground, under a
mountain (I know I sounding like the Andromeda Strain).

This all sounds like the prelude to some of the really scary fiction I've read like Stephen King's "The Stand"

Queen Maeve it is interesting that you bring this us because I remember just the other day one of my friends working for FEMA bringing this up to me
it sounded interesting...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers from both parties are challenging a Pentagon plan to study whether to transport deadly chemical weapons across state lines
to speed their destruction. The plan outlines one of several options the Pentagon is considering as it struggles to meet a congressional deadline to
destroy the chemical weapons by 2017.

Originally posted by LostNemesis
You've never heard the term "If you cant Duct it, # it!" ?

In a case like this, it's more like, "If you can't duct it, it'll *#^% YOU!" In other words, if it's something that can't be stopped with duct
tape, by the time they'll tell anyone else it'll be too late.

And for those of you who don't think this could be a very serious problem, let's see if it would worry you any more if you actually lived in
Atlanta...

Then again, how many people are currently living in any city that has such labs that never even realize that the labs are there? How
about the ever-ubiquitous terrorist attack...Or even a "staged scenario" pulled off by the PTB?

That's quite a leap you are making to get from 'rare' cases of human transmission, to 'as close to end of the world scenario as I can
imagine'.
Dangerous? Yes. End of the world scenario? Umm......not even close.

Animal waste, huh? Have you ever considered how many people don't "curb their dogs?" Or how about the numerous sewer rats, or the stray dogs & cats
in such a populous city. Even something like this bio-contaminant would spread a lot faster than you'd think, unless you think of things like the
non-human population. This is one example of how few people really stop to think about, are the myriad ways that something like this can quickly get
out of hand...How many such "X Factors" exist that I (& the lab techs & the CDC) would never even consider?

Start thinking about those people who lived near Chernobl or Three Mile Island...Anyone still think it's not a problem to have such labs
within densely-populated cities?

Chernobyl and TMI were entirely different scenarios involving not bio weapons but radiation accidents. Even if such a disease as Q Fever was leaked,
as was stated above, communication exists through contact with animal fecal matter, which last I checked most people don't just snoop around in. Even
then, there is the human immune system to consider... something that didn't help against the radiation in Chernobyl and TIM.

Comparing a biological accident to a radiological accident is roughly equivalent to comparing a university professor to GWB. Yes, they'd both share
similar traits... but they operate entirely differently.

More important than the particular disease involved in the Duct Tape Fiasco is the picture it paints of the CDC's internal procedures and
bio-security. Q Fever (as far a pathogens go) is not near the top of the list. the REAL problem is that the CDC also works with and stores organisms
that are geometrically more lethal than Q Fever. Some of the hemorrhagic viruses like Lassa, Marburg and Ebloa come to mind.

Isn't this a stealth way of feeding bio agents into the Aliens when they eat us, saving the rest of humanity?

But more seriously, they are saying it will probably be a form of bio terror (cf. intelligence chief) coming up in late January (cf. Colin Powell). So
I guess there isn't much of anything anyone can do about it. They're sitting on their hands, although I'd wager they will not themselves be at that
date anywhere near any of the 5 or more locations they estimate it could start (cf Joe Biden).

Now the Obama project to use a huge militia to operate the train convoys is starting to make sense. Nobody in their right mind would do such a thing,
except if it was the only way to quarantine infected populations in FEMA camps before they contaminate the rest of us.

This is what you can call careful provisional planning, they have the "disease control" cremation centers up and ready and stacked the plastic
coffins for body shipping folks air-tight (dead or alive?):

I agree that the Q fever virus isn't all that alarming. But these people don't just 'look' at the viruses. The reverse engineer them, they
insert or transplant code from other viruses and other organisms and make them much more virulent and or communicable.

Don't expect the truth from their reports. Weaponizing viruses is a HUGE business. Lot's of cash to throw around, paying lobbyists, faux-experts,
political figures, and local and national media is part of the spreadsheet.

I suggest that those who think this isn't telling review it from a financial point of view... nearly a quarter of a billion dollars; and they needed
'duct tape' to make it 'safe'. Any disparities? Think about how much the administrators take home in pay. But they can't manage to build an
airtight room. That would be 'rocket science.'

I do not think that either this specifically "toy" is highly contagious or not is important. If it happened in lab X that does research with
not-that-secret bio-weapon, it could happen anywhere else and public will not hear about it or should not be affected. I mean - those facilities have
several layers of defense and not all use high tech 21st century duct protection (i hope at least) but scientists and other personal are definitely at
risk. And it happens not only in US.

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